By Tim Reid
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump informed Christians on Friday that in the event that they vote for him this November, “in four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.”
It was not clear what the previous president meant by his remarks, in an election marketing campaign the place his Democratic opponents accuse him of being a menace to democracy, and after his try to overturn his 2020 defeat to President Joe Biden, an effort that led to the lethal riot on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The Trump marketing campaign didn’t instantly reply to a request for clarification of his feedback.
Trump was talking at an occasion organized by the conservative group Turning Level Motion in West Palm Seashore, Florida.
Trump stated: “Christians, get out and vote, just this time. “You will not should do it anymore. 4 extra years, what, will probably be mounted, will probably be nice, you will not should vote anymore, my stunning Christians.”
He added: “I like you Christians. I am a Christian. I like you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In 4 years, you do not have to vote once more, we’ll have it mounted so good you are not going to should vote,” Trump said.
In an interview with Fox News in December, Trump said that if he won the Nov. 5 election he would be a dictator, but only on “day one”, to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling.
Democrats have seized on that comment. Trump has since said the remarks were a joke.
If Trump wins a second term in the White House, he can serve only four more years as president. U.S. presidents are limited to two terms, consecutive or not, under the U.S. Constitution.
In May, speaking at a National Rifle Association gathering, Trump quipped about serving more than two terms as president.
He referred to the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, the only president to serve more than two terms. The two-term limit was added after Roosevelt’s presidency.
“, FDR, 16 years – nearly 16 years – he was 4 phrases. I do not know, are we going to be thought of three-term? Or two-term?” Trump asked the NRA crowd.
Trump’s remarks on Friday pointed to the need for both parties to energize their base voters ahead of what will likely be a closely fought election. Trump has enjoyed loyal support from evangelicals in the past two elections.
The race has abruptly tightened after the decision by Biden to end his reelection bid and with his vice president, Kamala Harris, becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Recent opinion polls show Trump’s significant lead over Biden has been largely erased since the torch was passed to Harris.
Jason Singer, a Harris marketing campaign spokesperson, in an announcement didn’t immediately tackle Trump’s remarks about Christians not having to vote once more.
Singer described Trump’s total speech as “bizarre” and “backward looking”.
